Summary

Arbitral Tribunal Renders Award

On November 2, 2023, the Tribunal constituted in the above-referenced matter under Article IX of the Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Bolivia concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, signed on April 17, 1998 and entered into force on June 6, 2001 (Treaty) rendered its Award in respect of a dispute concerning a series of mining concessions in the Bolivian municipalities of Antequera and Pazña.

The Tribunal was composed of Dr. Stanimir A. Alexandrov (Presiding Arbitrator), Professor Dr. Guido Santiago Tawil, and Dr. José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez. The proceedings were conducted pursuant to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, as revised in 2010 (with new Article 1, paragraph 4, as adopted in 2013). The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) acted as the Registry in the proceedings.

In its Award, the Tribunal dismissed the Respondent's objections to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and the admissibility of the Claimants' claims. The Tribunal, by majority, also dismissed the Claimants' claims that Respondent had breached the Treaty.

Professor Tawil issued a Dissenting Opinion, in which he opined that Respondent had violated the Treaty's fair and equitable treatment standard, as well as its obligation to provide full protection and security to the Claimants' investments in its territory under the Treaty. The Award was also accompanied by a Separate Opinion authored by Dr. Moreno, in which he noted his disagreement with certain aspects of the Tribunal majority's analysis on the question whether Mr. Julio Miguel Orlandini-Ágreda, when taken to be both a United States and a Bolivian national, was a protected investor under the Treaty.